How Much?

SJax7192

Hello all!

Just wanted some guidance on how much I should be eating per meal. I'm on a 1,440 calorie diet, but im always really under or really over. How much should I be eating per meal to hit that number?

I sincerely appreciate any and all help!

Thank you for your time!

Sarah

girlviernes

Well... you could do for 400 per meal and then you would have 240 to play with in the form of 1-2 snacks or bigger meals.

Some people prefer a lighter breakfast, so you could also go for a 300 kcal breakfast.

firebloom

It's really up to you and what keeps you the most full and satisfied. It doesn't matter how you divide them.

However, in terms of what works for me, I would divide your calories like this:

Breakfast: 370
Lunch: 370
Snacks: 100
Dinner: 600

bren3jet

It all depends on what your day is like. I work nights and prefer to spread my meals out. I eat 8 times a day. When I finish work is my most hungry part of the day for some reason so I eat about 300 calories then. And the rest of the meals I basically just divided the remaining calories by 7 and and eat that...about 225 a meal.

RodaRose

One suggestion is to find a day that comes to the right number of calories and repeat that day. In other words, some people do very well with repetition. Too much variation can end up with wild numbers.

cityruss

Any combination of numbers that fits in to 1,440. It's personal preference.

I prefer to go big in the evening. Some people like a big breakfast.

Just fit your numbers.

kommodevaran

Maybe prelogging will help you, if you aren't doing that already.

jumblejups

I'm on 1480cals a day at the moment. On average my first meal of the day is about 400-500cals, I have a main meal that is 600-700cals, then a light meal and/or snacks for around 200-300cals, any remaining calories are usually consumed through coffee and light snacks.

As everyone else has said it all comes down to what works for you during your day. I like my breakdown as I don't get so hungry as to want several 'proper' meals and I can't eat for a bit in the morning so I have a delay to starting, but I like to have at least one substantial meal where I can have various elements without much of a limit. I also like to enjoy milk and sugar in my coffee and some dark chocolate every day.

I also find it helpful to pre-log my main meal either the day before or in the morning, and then I work my remaining calories around it. I do the same if I know I want to have a bigger treat that day, like a dessert.

TimothyFish

I prefer to keep breakfast light, so I have more calories to play with later. Lunch is my dinner meal, because I'm usually away from home and have less ability to keep the calories low. Then supper is light because I sometimes don't eat until late, after I get home from a bicycle ride. I suppose someone could make supper dinner and lunch lighter, so they would have more calories at the end of the day.